Local Christians, pastors discuss importance of Easter Sunday

Today, Christians the world over will be celebrating Easter Sunday, which commemorates an event that, at first glance, may seem hard to believe.

Jesus of Nazareth, a first-century Jewish carpenter turned itinerant preacher and healer who Christians believe was God in the flesh, comes back to life two days after being executed on a Roman cross and appears to his followers.

Today, Christians the world over will be celebrating Easter Sunday, which commemorates an event that, at first glance, may seem hard to believe.

Jesus of Nazareth, a first-century Jewish carpenter turned itinerant preacher and healer who Christians believe was God in the flesh, comes back to life two days after being executed on a Roman cross and appears to his followers.

“It’s the day in which Christians believe Jesus Christ rose from the dead, which is the definitive victory over death, evil and our biggest fears, so this is a day in which we celebrate what God has done in order to save us,” said the Rev. Roger Landry, pastor of St. Bernadette Church in Fall River.

Jesus “conquered the greatest problem that mankind has ever had, and that is death. He showed that there is a way through death,” said Pastor Gerard Martel of Grace Gospel Church in Swansea.

After a season of penance, fasting, reflection and self-denial known as Lent, church services today will have a more joyous, exultant tone in their music, preaching and worship.

“On Easter Sunday Masses, there will be double hallelujahs wherever we can, with joy proclaiming our gratitude to God,” said Landry, who recently returned from Rome, where he was on-hand for the conclave that elected Pope Francis.

Westport Point United Methodist and Westport United Congregational Church will have a joint 6 a.m. sunrise service Sunday at Gooseberry Neck, with singing and praising.

“We’ve been very intentional about being present with Jesus on this journey at this time of year, and we make it a priority in our lives to be that way,” said the Rev. Katherine Mitchell, pastor of Westport Point United Methodist Church.

The Rev. Robert Lawrence, the pastor emeritus at the First Congregational Church in Fall River, will be leading Easter Sunday services aboard the Queen Elizabeth, where he is a passenger on a voyage to Europe.

“The resurrection of Christ, for those who can believe in what happened that first Easter, is the fulfillment of the promise that we do have eternal life,” Lawrence said.

“The wonderful thing about Easter is that we are not celebrating a historical event. We’re celebrating a present reality. Christians live in the fact that Christ is risen,” said the Rev. John Murray, pastor of St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Raynham.

“... He’s God. And every human person, whether we realize it or not, has a place in our hearts that (is) created for God alone. So when God makes himself known, the human person is going to be drawn to him,” Murray said.

With all the theological doctrines on Jesus’ divinity, it is almost easy to forget that secular historians also believe Jesus was a real human being. The first-century Jewish historian Flavius Joseph mentioned Jesus in his writings, as did Tacitus, a Roman senator and historian, in A.D. 116.

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Not much is known of Jesus’ life before he began his public ministry at age 30. The gospels recount his birth in Bethlehem, his parents’ flight into Egypt and one episode from his childhood at age 12 when he had a dialogue with Jewish scholars in the Temple at Jerusalem. Landry calls this period Jesus’ “hidden life.”

“We Christians believe that was a significant part of what he did to save us because most of our lives are hidden in terms of world history,” Landry said.

Based on what is known from the gospels and the culture in first-century Israel, some extrapolations can be made on what Jesus’ life might have been like.

Jesus probably looked Semitic and grew up poor, living first as an exile in Egypt before his family returned to Nazareth, a small village in Galilee. The gospels say Joseph — Jesus’ foster father — was an advanced carpenter or workman, and Jesus would have likely followed in his trade.

The gospels indicate Jesus grew up in a faithful extended Jewish family, which would have included cousins, aunts, uncles and village residents. He would have spoken Aramaic, probably knew Hebrew from attending religious services, and may have also been familiar with Greek, which was a universal language in the Roman Empire.

Jesus appears to have known how to read and write, based on gospel stories of him reading from the Torah at his local synagogue and later writing in the sand to prevent an adulterous woman from being stoned.

However, it is his short, three-year “public life” that continues to resonate with people more than 2,000 years later. His message of repentance, reconciliation, forgiveness, unconditional love, humility and charity continue to inspire people today.

“Jesus is the most selfless person in all of history,” said the Rev. Greg Wheaton, pastor of Liberty Christian Center in Taunton. “He is the most caring and selfless. He defied cultural expectations in his treatment of foreigners, women and the way he put himself out there for other people and the ultimate sacrifice of his life. His teachings are so divine. They are not human philosophy.”

“The thing that Jesus taught is a way, a spiritual path to being our fullest and truest selves,” Mitchell added.

“We were created to be a community of people who care for one another,” said Tom Cabral, pastor of Redemption Fellowship Church in Fall River.

“If the Trinity is a community of three loving persons, then it shows we are meant to live in community, to care for the less fortunate,” Cabral said. “It’s part of our spiritual DNA as persons to care for others. That is what makes for a Christian life.”